Early Sketches of the Greatest Female Disney Villains

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Evil queens, jealous stepmothers, and many-tentacled sorceresses all sit in the pantheon of Disney’s most infamous female villains. Ursula was the first Disney villain to sing, while her predecessor Cruella de Vil simply cackled with her long cigarette. Snow White’s Evil Queen had a henchman. Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent worked alone. Whatever their agendas (spite, jealousy, unadulterated evil), these fictional women are famous and feared among kids and parents alike.

The book Disney Villains: Delightfully Evil, out this week from Disney Editions Deluxe, shows how both male and female antagonists were created, from early sketches to final renderings, including the stories of the voice talents that influenced animations and the challenges each character posed to the designers who brought them to life.

Ursula was originally a fish with talons. A designer reworked Hercules’ Meg after higher-ups called her first illustrations “too realistic.” Click ahead to see Cinderella’s evil stepmother, the Queen of Hearts, and Darla from Finding Nemo.

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In early versions of The Little Mermaid, Ursula was a fish with talons.

Two early versions of Cinderella's evil stepmother, Lady Tremaine.

Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent is widely considered the most popular Disney villain.

In Hercules, Meg's body shape is inspired by a Greek setting. Supervising animator Ken Duncan designed her hips, chest, and head as basic vase sh... In Hercules, Meg's body shape is inspired by a Greek setting. Supervising animator Ken Duncan designed her hips, chest, and head as basic vase shapes.

An early sketch of Alice in Wonderland's Queen of Hearts, and a final version of how her character appeared in the movie.

Cruella de Vil's character was partially based on actress Tallulah Bankhead, 1940s Hollywood bad girl (left and right), while a preliminary study... Cruella de Vil's character was partially based on actress Tallulah Bankhead, 1940s Hollywood bad girl (left and right), while a preliminary study of Madame Medusa used Cruella de Vil as the base body type (center). **This post has been corrected to show that the center image is an early study for The Rescuers' Madame Medusa, which employed Cruella's base body type for inspiration.

Cleanup animation and final frames of Yzma, from The Emperor's New Groove.

An early sketch of Madame Medusa from The Rescuers.

Darla, a villain in Finding Nemo.

Mother Gothel from Tangled.

An animation drawing of Madam Mim from The Sword in the Stone, in the form of a snake.

Snow White's Evil Queen.

A final frame of Aunt Spiker and Aunt Spong from James and the Giant Peach (1996).